[Review] The Hiding Place - C. J. Tudor

Summary: Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang--the betrayal, the suicide, the murder--and after what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn't have a choice. Because judging by what was done to that poor Morton kid, what happened all those years ago to Joe's sister is happening again. And only Joe knows who is really at fault.

Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with former friends who are none too happy to have him back in town--while avoiding the enemies he's made in the years since--is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to that abandoned mine where it all went wrong and his life changed forever, and finally confronting the shocking, horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn't the day his sister went missing.

It was the day she came back.

With the same virtuosic command of character and pacing she displayed in The Chalk Man, C. J. Tudor has once again crafted an extraordinary novel that brilliantly blends harrowing psychological suspense, a devilishly puzzling mystery, and enough shocks and thrills to satisfy even the most seasoned reader. (Pub Date: Feb 05, 2019)

Curious and scary.

Joe is back to the place where his younger sister disappeared and then returned, except she wasn't his sister anymore. Many years later, he becomes a teacher trying to run away from his debt but also understand why it's happening again to other kids.

Even though this book has lots of promise in the first half, which made me glued to each page, this didn't develop well. Unlike her previous work, this is about a supernatural event making kids become something else, something dangerous, and it did entice me. But then it just didn't grow enough. The story doesn't become silly but it goes close. Indeed, I'm not that into horror books, so I can't evaluate it that well. It just fell short, in my opinion. Too Pet Sematary for my taste.

But I liked the characters, even when Joe wasn't as funny as he thought he was, I still couldn't hate him. Annie's story was also so sad, I teared a bit. Actually, most of the kids' stories were, which is a high point for me, I like feeling.

It isn't a bad book, you'll probably have a good time like I had if you liked The Chalk Man, but it didn't go beyond, which is a pity considering this writer's talent.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.


Rating: 3 out of 5.